Transformations of soil and manure phosphorus after surface application of manure to field plots

Transfer of phosphorus (P) from surface-applied manures to runoff is an important source of pollution, but few studies have closely monitored P dynamics in manure, soil, and runoff through time. We monitored manure and soil P over 14 to 17 months in field experiments in Texas and Pennsylvania, USA following dairy and poultry manure surface application. Manure was applied to porous fabric that enabled discrete sampling of both manure and underlying soil. Manure mass consistently decreased while manure total P was essentially constant through time. Manure water extractable P decreased rapidly for the first two months, likely due to rainfall leaching, but then maintained stable concentrations thereafter, with other forms of manure P gradually transformed to water extractable forms. Soil P from the upper 2 cm rapidly increased after manure application in association with manure leaching by rain. After 2 to 3 months, soil P peaked and either remained constant or gradually declined. Similar trends occurred at 2–5 and 5–10 cm, but with lesser magnitudes. At 10–15 cm, soil P changed little over time. In Pennsylvania, naturally occurring runoff from 0.7-m × 1.3-m plots without and without manure was also monitored. Runoff dissolved P concentrations were greatest for the first event after manure application and decreased steadily through time, but remained greater than P concentrations from control plots, and were always well related to manure water extractable P. This study reveals that management practices for water quality protection must consider the potential for manure P transformations to contribute dissolved P to runoff long after manure is applied.     

Low-order ODE approximations and receding horizon control of surface roughness during thin-film growth

The problem of feedback controller synthesis with objective to control the microstructure during thin-film growth is considered. The problem of the non-availability of closed form dynamic models for the evolution of the microstructure is circumvented by deriving low-order state-space models that approximate the underlying kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Initially, a finite set of “coarse” observables is identified from spatial correlation functions to represent the coarse microscopic state and capture the dominant characteristics of the microstructure during the deposition process. Subsequently, a state-space model is identified, employing proper orthogonal decomposition and Carleman linearization, that describes the evolution of the coarse observables. The state-space model is subsequently employed to design receding horizon controllers that regulate the surface roughness of the thin-film at a specified set-point during the growth process by manipulating the substrate temperature. The above approach is applied to: (i) a deposition process modeled using solid-on-solid model on a one-dimensional lattice; and (ii) an anisotropic deposition process on a two-dimensional lattice. Closed-loop simulations at various growth rates and in the presence of disturbances are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller design scheme.     

Simulation of quantum-ballistic nanoswitches

A two-dimensional model based on the solution of the Schrödinger-Poisson system in effective-mass formulation is proposed for the calculation of quantum-ballistic transport processes in nanoswitch structures. The method is appropriate to properly describe the strong confinement of the electrons in the heterostructure. Using scattering boundary conditions an energy-dependent transmission matrix is calculated that allows us to determine the total charge density of all electrons injected into the device by integration over energy. In this approach space charge effects are self-consistently taken into account. The practicality of the model for numerical simulation is demonstrated with reference to measured data for various device geometries. We find that for device structures such as the Y-branch switch non-linear effects are of crucial importance.     

Selection of sampling points for accurate evaluation of flatness error using coordinate measuring machine

Dimensional inspection, in integrated manufacturing environments, requires accurate inspection while minimizing the cost and time of inspection. The selection of sampling plan—sample size and sample point locations, the method of evaluating the form error and the nature of the manufactured surfaces will play an important role in deciding the best inspection strategy to be adopted. This paper deals with the strategy for evaluation of flatness error which is one of the most commonly used form tolerances for control of manufactured surfaces. Investigations have been carried out to ascertain the influence of surface quality (surface roughness) in determining the sampling strategy for accurate determination of flatness error while inspecting on a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The sampling plan utilizes the Hammersley sequence for point location and the flatness error is evaluated using the minimum zone method (MZM) based on computational geometry techniques. Results indicate that the surface roughness influences the accuracy of inspection and can be used as a parameter for determining an initial sample size for the determination of flatness error.     

Effects of the Physicochemical Properties of Metronidazole-Corn Starch Mixtures on the Parameters of the Pellets in the Wet-Granulation Method

Whether the surface free energy of a powder mixture (metronidazole-corn starch) depends on the proportions of the components and how the forces of cohesion and adhesion between the particles affect their interactions as functions of the proportions of the components were investigated. Pellets were produced from the powder mixtures. The interactions between the powder mixtures and the binding agent were first investigated on the basis of the spreading coefficients (S) calculated from the surface free energy. The mechanical properties of the pellets produced were predicted from the S values. Pellet parameters were evaluated as functions of the corn starch content. The overall aim was to investigate the role of the surface free energy of two-component powder compositions in pellet production. In contrast with predictions from the S values, pellets with a more porous and loose texture and with unfavourable mechanical properties can be produced as the S values are increased.     

Friction and Adhesion Hysteresis between Surfactant Monolayers in Water

We briefly review the model that correlates friction between two surfaces in adhesive contact with the loading-unloading adhesion hysteresis between them. We then examine in light of this model the observed low friction between two mica surfaces coated with a double-chained quaternary ammonium surfactant in intimate adhesive contact in water. This enables us to propose a mechanism for surfactant boundary lubrication in water that is rather different from the classic boundary lubrication in air: in this mechanism, adhesion takes place at the interface between the opposing surfactant hydrocarbon tails, whereas frictional sliding takes place at the interface between the hydrated surfactant headgroups and mica. The implications of our findings to biolubrication processes are discussed.     

Control of the Surface Properties in Polymer Blends

We report on the preparation of amphiphilic diblock copolymers containing a hydrophilic segment, poly(acrylic acid)(PAA), and a polystyrene hydrophobic part. We analysed, by means of contact-angle measurements, how the hydrophilic segments usually bury themselves under the hydrophobic when exposed to air to reduce the surface free energy of the system. In contrast, in contact with water, the hydrophilic blocks have a tendency to segregate to the interface. We first describe the parameters that control the surface reconstruction when the environmental conditions are inversed from dry air to water vapour. Then, annealing time, temperature, composition and size of the diblock copolymers, and size of the matrix that influenced the surface migration process are the main parameters also considered. Finally, the density of the carboxylic functions placed at the surface was determined using the methylene blue method.     

Effect of ZnO contents at the surface of brass-plated steel cord on the adhesion property to rubber compound

An effect of ZnO concentration at the surface of brass-plated steel cord on the adhesion property between a rubber compound and a brass-plated steel cord was investigated. Cord composition was determined by an Auger microscope with Ar ion sputtering. Two different steel cords were prepared; one (cord A) had higher ZnO concentration at the cord surface compared to the other (cord B). Pull-out force of unaged adhesion sample of cord A was lower than that of cord B. But the adhesion durability of the humidity-aged adhesion sample of cord A was better than the latter. Rubber coverage of the pull out cord for the unaged adhesion samples of cord A was poor, indicating insufficient formation of an adhesion layer. Pull-out force of the thermal-aged adhesion samples decreased with increasing aging time and that of cord A was lower than that of cord B. The enhancement of rubber coverage during initial aging period could be explained by an additional formation of copper sulfide at the adhesion interphase and an increase of modulus of rubber compound adjacent to the adhesion layer. With further increases of aging time, adhesion interphase grew excessively and the physical property of rubber compound deteriorated significantly, such that rubber coverage of adhesion samples decreased markedly with increasing aging time.     

Hydrodynamics and mass transfer in bubble column: Influence of liquid phase surface tension

According to literature, few experiments are performed in organic solvents which are mostly used in commercial gas-liquid reactors. However, it is commonly accepted that data obtained in aqueous solution allow to predict the surface tension effects, and to model the behaviour of organic solvents. In this work, we examine the validity of this approximation.In this objective, the flows observed in two pure media having similar viscosity but different surface tension—respectively, water (reference) and cyclohexane (solvent)—are successively compared at two scales: in a bubble column and in bubble plumes.In bubble plumes, as expected, the mean bubble size is smaller in the medium having the smallest surface tension (cyclohexane), but for this medium the destabilisation of flow is observed to occur at smaller gas velocity, due to break-up and coalescence phenomena. In bubble column, these phenomena induce the bubbling transition regime at lower gas velocity, whatever the operating conditions for liquid phase: batch or continuous. Consequently, when the two media are used at similar gas superficial velocity, but in different hydrodynamic regimes, greater gas hold-up and smaller bubble diameter can be observed in water; the interfacial area is then not always higher in cyclohexane.This result differs from the behaviour observed in the literature for aqueous solutions. The analysis of bubble plumes in aqueous solutions of butanol shows that this difference is due to a fundamental difference in coalescent behaviour between pure solvents and aqueous mixtures: the surface tension effect is less important in pure liquid than in aqueous solutions, because of the specific behaviour of surfactants.It is then still difficult to predict a priori the bubbling regime or the flow characteristics for a given medium, and all the more to choose an appropriate liquid as a model for industrial solvents.     

Adhesion-Induced Interactions between Micron-Sized Zirconia or Carbon Spheres and Melamine-Cross-Linked Polyester Surfaces

The thermodynamic work of adhesion between micron-sized zirconia or carbon spheres and polyester-melamine surfaces was determined using the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) relationship, after first validating the JKR approach for this system. The calculated works of adhesion for both zirconia and carbon were similar for any given substrate composition and were found to be approximately 35 mJ/m² at low melamine concentrations, close to theoretical predictions. The apparent work of adhesion decreased with increasing melamine concentration, most likely due to the presence of a glassy melamine-rich surface layer, which is not representative of the bulk. The value found for low melamine concentration was assumed to be a true value for cocondensed polyester-melamine, and this was used to estimate surface modulus and the amount of excess melamine in the surface as a function of bulk composition.